UK-focused gambling blocking system Gamban has announced that it will return to free services in England, having achieved the same milestone in Wales earlier in the year.
The platform, like many other safer gambling and customer protection organisations in the UK, found itself going through a period of adjustment when the government’s statutory gambling harms levy was introduced.
This adjustment meant the company had to become subscription only. It has now been able to reverse this not only in Wales, but also now in England following approved funding from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID).
Gamban offers services to gamblers who are experiencing harm, serving as a self-exclusion platform across gambling companies. Its technological development is based on lived experience of people who have experienced problem gambling and gambling harm.
Sector adjusts to statutory levy era
The platforms move back to free services may be a sign that the third-party sector is stabilising after the change in gambling harm treatment funding earlier this year, which left many organisations in a state of financial disarray.
The move saw the UK break away from the long-maintained model of operators voluntarily donating annually to the research, treatment and education (RET) system overseen by the now-closed GambleAware to the new Statutory Levy.
Contributions are now collected and overseen by the National Health Service (NHS) across England, Scotland, and Wales, with the NHS taking the lead on treatment. OHID handles distribution of funds for prevention, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) handles research.
Initially, gambling harm charities and prevention organisations in the UK warned that the selective method of funding will put them at risk of closing or providing limited services, leading to some necessary internal model changes like Gamban’s subscription model.
With a fresh funding round from OHID and the Gambling Harms Prevention Fund now allocated, however, Gamban has announced that it is returning to offering free services in England.
This follows a similar development earlier in April, where Gamban announced that it will offer its services for free in Wales as well, with the local government nurturing problem gambling support as part of its renewed national strategy to tackle gambling harm.
On its activities in England, Gamban added: “Despite our disappointment at the initial decision, which meant Gamban could no longer be free in England, everyone in our company was heartened by the messages of support from other organisations in the gambling harm prevention sector expressing how much they value the work we do and to keep going.
“This funding gives us an important opportunity to work with partners across the sector to make that protection available to more people, free of charge.”
